The Sword That Brings Judgment
by Drk Knght
Summary: His skills with the sword were unparalleled… Using the one thing that he excelled at, Kenshin Himura unleashed his sword of judgment upon those selected and corrupted bureaucrats in order to bring about the birth of the Meji Restoration.


**The Sword That Brings Judgment**

Written by: **Drk Knght**

His skills with the sword were unparalleled…

The manslayer known and feared as Hitokiri Battousai brought about key victories for those who followed Katsura. Those who followed Katsura despised the Tokugawa Shogunate and desired change to come to the country of Japan. With so much corruption in the government, there could be only one way to clear a path for the new government. Using the one thing that he excelled at, Kenshin Himura unleashed his sword of judgment upon those selected and corrupted bureaucrats in order to bring about the birth of the Meji Restoration.

* * *

As the last glimpses of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, the city of Kyoto soon became blanketed by evening dusk. A gentle breeze passed through the foliage of the nearby trees allowing the small, sweet-smelling blossoms of the cherry trees to be carried aloft with the passing, listing wind.

With the sun now set, danger on the streets of Kyoto increased. Vendors and store owners alike closed up their shops and scattered back to their homes leaving the packed-down dirt streets and alleys free of any traffic.

The shuffle and noise created by the feet of shoppers and vendors faded into the night as the sounds of the crickets and other night creatures came alive. The gentle churning of water from a nearby stream sloshed about indiscriminately as it followed obediently the natural current of the river.

The air about the city seemed to be fresh and invigorating creating a desire to inhale deeply and enjoy the newness of the early evening. Each new breath taken in cooled the nostrils and seemed to soothe the body and relax it into a state of regeneration brought about by a good night's rest.

A flicker of light danced upon the walls of a back alley as a group of three men each armed with swords passed through the part of the city where their travel would be shortened. The light from the paper lantern danced back and forth creating moving shadows on the walls of the narrow alley.

"We should hurry up. I don't particularly like this part of town at night. It's much too dangerous here," said the lead man who carried the paper lantern. He glanced back and forth looking deeply into the shadows praying that no one would be there.

"I've heard the good news, Kiyosato," the older man spoke warmly passing off the warning from the concerned bodyguard. He smiled gently as the man in front of him turned his shoulders back.

"What news, sir?" inquired the lead man as his eyes skimmed across the darkness looking for any potential threat.

"You're to be married next month, right?"

"Ahh… yes. That news."

"You are a lucky man to be marrying your childhood sweetheart."

"Yes, but I must admit that I feel a bit guilty, though, for having so much happiness while so many others are suffering," Kiyosato replied meekly as he thought about this ongoing rebellion to overthrow the Tokugawa government and just how many people had lost loved ones in the previous battles. "It just doesn't seem right…"

"Hah! Nonsense! Each man should seize happiness for himself regardless of the state of the world. The world is always in some terrible condition. That shouldn't stop a man from being happy, should it?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Kiyosato chuckled. A small smile gently creased his face as his mind wandered to his wife to be, and his departing words to her. How he loved her so much that he would be willing to do anything for her! He wanted to impress his wife by escorting mister Shigekura to and from the meeting unharmed. After that, they would spend the rest of their lives together.

Kiyosato looked up at a nearby blossoming tree that had flowers with red petals and a yellow stamen. He remembered his promise to his future wife. He'd promised her that he would bring her back some beautiful flowers. He'd bring her flowers that were perfect; ones which would represent his never ending and undying love for her. He looked at the reddish flowers lying about the stony path of the alleyway and marveled at their beauty. Flowers like these would be perfect for his future wife. He passed another alley without a second's thought. They would be fine. After all, they made it this far.

"You are Jubei Shigekura of the Kyoto Shoshidai, aren't you?"

The dark toned voice from the shadows caused the group to inhale sharply and turn around to see who had identified the Tokugawa official. Emerging from the shadows from the nearby alley was a boy who looked to be barely into his adult years. He wore drab gray hakama pants and a dark blue almost black kimono shirt. He stepped out of the alleyway and indiscriminately crushed a few of the flower blossoms that lay on the ground.

Kiyosato turned to face the boy and felt fear instantly grip his heart. He felt his pulse race and his heart beat even faster than it had already. Beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead and dripped down his face. What was this boy doing up this late at night? And what did he want? But most importantly, how did he know Jubei Shigekura?

The figure who had emerged from the shadows took a few more steps out from the alley allowing the men to see who it was. The light from Kiyosato's lantern illuminated enough of the area for them to see that this kid was armed with a katana. Their fears were realized when all three men saw the swords that the young kid was carrying.

"Now, old man. You're judgment is at hand," came the chilling threat from the young swordsman.

Realizing that his master's life was in danger, Kiyosato tossed the lantern down onto the ground and reached for his sword. "It's an assassin!" He then moved in front of Shigekura and prepared for the attack from the assassin. "Try it!" Was he going to kill Shigekura? Was this young boy an assassin sent out to kill Mister Jubei Shigekura?

"It's just a boy with a grudge against those in power." Shigekura stepped back behind Kiyosato and glanced over at the chilling, death stare that came from the assassin. "Do you really think that you can change the world just by swinging your sword?"

The assassin made no response. He didn't even blink. His face was cold and expressionless. His limp arms slowly extended from his kimono shirt and his left hand rested on the sheath of his sword right beneath the guard.

The rear bodyguard was a man of much bigger build of any of the men in that alley. He too reached for his sword and stepped back guarding the target. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The assassin still did nothing. His face was expressionless. He gazed at them with the same fierce intense stare since he first emerged from the shadows.

"Answer me!" the bigger man shouted to the boy. But again, he was answered with silence. The man breathed deeply trying to calm his nerves. "So be it! Now, die!" The man charged and drew his sword and raised it up for a quick slash downward into the assassin's left shoulder. His slash was met by the assassin's hand guard. "What the…?"

The assassin grunted in frustration as the man's sword was held against his hand guard preventing him from unsheathing his own sword. After a brief moment, the assassin slowly shifted the blocked attack off to the right and then quickly off to the left.

The move caused the bigger man to stumble forward. His eyes widened as he realized what caliber of assassin they were up against. He was too late to warn the others and too late react to the assassin's next move. Bringing the entire sheath out from his belt, the assassin raised the end of the sheath up and drove it into the bigger man's left eye as one would push a stake into dirt. The bodyguard screamed out in pain as blood squirted from his injured eye making it difficult to see anything.

The assassin had already brought his own sword back into his belt and assumed a sword drawing stance: the battoujutsu. Then with seeming godlike speed and power, the assassin unsheathed his sword and easily sliced through the bodyguard's flesh up to his spinal cord. He quickly placed his other hand onto the sword and thrust harder continuing his slice through the bodyguard. Blood spewed from the bigger man like a fountain coloring the walls a crimson red. The assassin, after dispatching the biggest one, with his sword outstretched dashed toward Shigekura.

"My turn!" Kiyosato said angrily as he drew out his sword. But before he could assume a stance, he felt himself being pushed out of the way by Shigekura.

"It's me he wants, not you!" the old man said as he reached for his sword and unsheathed it. Just as the old man turned in the assassin's direction, he was met with a piercing sensation that penetrated the middle of his jaw right behind the chin up through his mouth and out the top of his head. He gasped briefly feeling his life leaving his body.

Kiyosato watched in horror as he saw the sword suddenly coming through the top of his master's head. Fear paralyzed his body and sweat blurred his vision as he witnessed the grotesque scene before him. The pale blade protruding from his master's, former master's, head shimmered less and less due to the blood of the two victims which had been mercilessly slaughted. What Kiyosato didn't realize was that the blade of the assassin's sword was not curved back but rather forward. That meant that the sharp edge of the katana was pointed back at the assassin.

The assassin had only one hand on his sword. He paused for a moment relishing in the man's pain and in his final moments of life. It seemed to feed his desire for more of the same. For the first time, the assassin seemed to betray a slight smile but only for the briefest of moments. The assassin slowly reached up with his other hand and tugged back with his sword slicing the last moments of life out from the face of Jubei Shigekura and leaving a large vertical gash right through the middle of the man's face and blood spewing from the fatal wound.

"Master!" Kiyosato shouted as he stood to his feet.

The assassin was already moving toward him with speed that seemed inhuman. Kiyosato barely had time to raise his sword to block the side sweeping attack from the assassin. Their blades met with a flurry of sparks. Kiyosato had to brace his sword by placing his left hand on the dull part of the sword in order to counter the immense power of the assassin's blade. With so much power behind his blade and the incredible speed at which he moved, the assassin pushed his opponent back against the alley. Then, the assassin thrust off of his opponent's blade and slashed at his head. Kiyosato stumbled to his left and was barely able to duck out of the way of having his name written in blood on the streets of Kyoto. He quickly spun around and assumed a defensive stance. Kiyosato saw that the wooden slates of the house where he had been forced back to retreat had snapped easily underneath the force of the assassin's blade.

The assassin held his pose for a second almost surprised that his attack was avoided. He slowly turned his head around to face the last bodyguard. His eyes pierced through Kiyosato like his sword had pierced through the other victims in the alley. Slowly, the assassin turned to face the lone opponent who held his sword out in a right handed thrusting position. The assassin slowly lifted his sword up and held the blade near his face.

"Drop your sword, or be met with mine." With a quick shift of the blade's position, the light of the moon reflected off of the assassin's blade revealing that his blade was stained with blood. The color of the blood stained sword was of similar color to the assassin's hair.

"I will never surrender to you! I cannot die! I will not!"

"You're already dead!"

Kiyosato charged quickly and slashed at his opponent. The assassin countered the slash easily and brushed the attack off to the right side. Kiyosato was already spinning around to slash once again at the assassin. But again, their blades met and a flurry of sparks jumped from their swords once again. He was about to slash once again but the assassin suddenly moved. The assassin bent his knees and lowered his sword and slashed so quickly that Kiysato had no time to prevent the assassin's blade from carving a deep slash across his belly. The man bent over in pain as he felt his life bleeding from his body. _Is this the end? No, I can't die! Not yet!_

Kiyosato was barely able to stand up when suddenly the assassin's blade was thrust at him again. _His speed is unreal! _He tried to avoid the blade from piercing his heart by leaning backwards a bit. He brought his sword over to parry the attack, but he was too late. The blade of the assassin pierced through the man's left shoulder, sharp edge up. Then the assassin pushed up and sliced clean through the bone and muscles of Kiysato's left shoulder. He dropped and rolled on the ground a few feet away. His clothes were stained crimson with his own life that was beginning to freely flow out of his body.

"I… cannot… die…" the man breathed out as he staggered to his feet using his sword as a crutch to stand up. "I fight… to your death!" In one last ditch effort, the man charged for the assassin hoping to take the assassin down with him with a stab to the heart. He thrust his blade out, but the assassin seemed to duck right at the last moment with his sword swinging out in an arc. Kiyosato felt an all too familiar sensation as the assassin's sword sliced deep into his chest spewing his blood from his body. Instantly, Kiyosato dropped to the ground unable to fight.

The assassin was still in motion from his finishing attack when he suddenly felt a searing pain leap up the left side of his face. He reached up and gently touched the area with two of his fingers. He hissed when he felt the skin of his cheek had been split open. He followed the gash from the top of his cheek bone all the way down to his jaw bone. A warm liquid coated his fingers and when he pulled his fingers back to see, he saw his finger coating in the crimson color of his own blood. The assassin immediately shot a deathly glare back at the dying man who was whimpering something. The assassin lifted his sword up and drove it into the back of the man's neck. He grunted as he twisted the blade effectively silencing the man who had cut him.

"Stubborn fool. That is what you deserve for cutting me. You would have lived had you dropped your sword. But because you didn't, this is your punishment. Your judgment. And my sword brought you that judgment. Tell your friends in the afterlife that you were dealt divine judgment from the Battousai."


End file.
